Fancy seeing you: energy foes Abbott, Frydenberg and Credlin to face off in US

The energy minister, Josh Frydenberg, has no shortage of challenges right at the moment – including trying to land a complicated electricity policy that can placate both his coal-obsessed colleagues and also state governments concerned about a lack of ambition on emissions reduction.

Electricity in the air: Tony Abbott, Peta Credlin and Josh
 Frydenberg have been on opposing sides of the energy debate.
Composite: Penny Bradfield, Mick Tsikas/AAP

But his diplomatic skills will be put further to the test this week when he attends the annual Australian-American leadership dialogue in Washington.

“The dialogue” is a high-powered gathering of movers and shakers – politicians, diplomats, business and media doyens – who mingle in closed sessions to mull the state of the bilateral relationship in the age of Trump.

Read the story by Katharine Murphy from The Guardian - “Fancy seeing you: energy foes Abbott, Frydenberg and Credlin to face off in US.”

States may go it alone on clean energy target, says Victoria's energy minister

Willing state governments could band together to implement a new clean energy target consistent with the central recommendation of the Finkel review if the Turnbull government can’t deliver the required national leadership on a post-2020 scheme.

Victoria’s energy minister, Lily D’™Ambrosio: ‘Investors, industry
need policy certainty and clarity. We can’t continue to be
on this terrible rollercoaster ride of policy uncertainty.’

Victoria’s climate and energy minister, Lily D’Ambrosio, told Guardian Australia that state governments going it alone was a real possibility if the Turnbull government couldn’t determine a position on the clean energy target in time for a meeting of energy ministers on Friday.

She said if states emerged from Friday’s meeting with no clear resolution on the clean energy target, “willing” states could ask the Australian Energy Market Commission to provide advice about how the scheme envisaged by the chief scientist could be implemented by state government action.

“The willing states are looking at the real prospect of potentially having to go it alone,” she said.

Read Katherine Murphy’s story on The Guardian - “States may go it alone on clean energy target, says Victoria's energy minister.”

Labor environment policy on federal approvals both 'yes' and 'no'

Labor is vowing if it wins the election that it will not revisit 'one-stop-shop' legislation that will state governments more say over environmental approvals.

The mining industry is unimpressed with the details so far, labelling it a missed opportunity to improve productivity and cut costs.

The Greens, however, support the commitment but say it does not go far enough.

The ALP's official environment policy includes a commitment to "retain Federal Government powers of approval under federal laws" and "re-establish the Federal Government's responsibility for protection of matters of national environmental significance".

Read the ABC Rural story - “Labor environment policy on federal approvals gets tick from Greens, ticks off mining industry.”